Your trusted source

Only forensic tests can determine whether Russian serviceman Valery Permyakov is sane, Armenian Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan told reporters on Tuesday.

He stressed that the other opinions are of no importance for the investigation.

Asked what he wrote in his letter to the Russian Prosecutor General, Kostanyan replied that he cannot make public the letter because it is an investigative and official secret.

Six members of one family, including a two-year-old child, were shot dead in their house in Gyumri on January 12. A six-month-old baby was hospitalized with stab wounds. He died in hospital on January 12. Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the 102nd Russian military base stationed in Gyumri, the main suspect in the murder, was detained by Russian border guards while attempting to cross the Armenian-Turkish border near Yerazgavors village in Armenia’s Shirak province. Permyakov is held in custody at the Russian military base. He was questioned and confessed to the crime. Permyakov is charged under Article 105.2 and 338.2 of the Russian Criminal Code (murder and desertion). Also, Armenian Investigative Committee brought a charge against Permyakov under Article 104 part 2 point 1 (murder of two or more persons) of the Armenian Criminal Code.